Did you suffer injury as a result of negligence by a healthcare professional or medical facility or hospital in Queens? Our Queens medical malpractice lawyers can help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
Our partners Michael Kaplen and Shana De Caro have over 40 years’ experience representing individuals who have suffered injury or death due to professional negligence of their health care provider.
And our attorneys have successfully advocated for Queens County residents in cases involving:
- Anesthesia malpractice
- Ear, nose, & throat medical malpractice
- Emergency room malpractice
- Hospital malpractice
- Improper treatment of infectious diseases
- Internist malpractice
- Medical errors in orthopedics
- Medical malpractice in the care of children
- Misdiagnosed cancer
- Neurosurgery malpractice
- Obstetrical and birth injury
- Retinopathy of prematurity
- Stroke misdiagnosis
We work on a contingency basis, which means you only pay a fee if we are successful in receiving compensation for you.
Please get in touch for a free consultation.
How Common Are Medical Malpractice Cases In Queens?
We contacted the New York State Office of Court Administration to obtain statistics on the number of medical malpractice cases filed in the City of New York, by county.
The chart below shows the annual number of RJI filings related to medical malpractice in Queens.
According to the New York State Office of Court Administration there were a total of 3,236 medical malpractice cases filed in Queens between 2011 and 2018. This is an average of 404 cases per year in the borough.
The data also revealed that Queens had fewer medical malpractice cases than Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx over the same period:
A total of 16,769 medical malpractice cases were filed in NYC between 2011 and 2018.
This means that 19.3% of NYC medical malpractice cases were filed in Queens, which is considerably lower than the percentage of New Yorkers who live in the borough (27.4%).
Performance of Queens Hospitals
Figures are not currently available for the number of medical malpractice cases pursued against individual hospitals in Queens. However, we have collated performance statistics for 3 of the major hospitals in the county (Elmhurst Hospital Center, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, and New York Presbyterian, Queens), which were published by the New York State Department of Health. These include:
- mortality rates compared to national and state averages
- complications compared to national averages
- waiting times
- patient satisfaction
Performance Summary
| Hospitals | Mortality | Complications | Wait Time | Satisfaction | Complaints | Substantiated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmhurst | 1.31 | 0.75 | 78 mins | 62.33% | 0.1 | 28.60% |
| Jamaica | 1.51 | 0.73 | 86 mins | 64.5 | 0.3 | 38.5 |
| Presbyterian | 1.29 | 0.64 | 34 mins | 67.00% | 0.1 | 41.70% |
- Mortality: relative to national (1.0), lower is better. New York State average = 1.34
- Complications: relative to national (1.0), lower is better. New York State average = 0.87
- Wait Time: average patient wait time in ED before assessment by healthcare professional
- Patient Satisfaction: higher is better
- Complaints: number of complaints per 10,000 patient days
- Substantiated: percentage of allegations which were substantiated
Elmhurst Hospital Center
Non-cardiac surgery related deaths at Elmhurst Hospital Center were 31% higher than the national average, but slightly lower than the average for New York State (34% higher than the national average).
Complications at the hospital were 25% lower than the national average.
Elmhurst performed poorly for Emergency Department timeliness, with an average patient wait time of 78 minutes placing the hospital in the bottom 5 facilities in New York.
And only 62.33% of patients reported they were satisfied with their care at Elmhurst, placing the hospital in the bottom 2% for patient satisfaction nationally.
But the number of complaints registered against the hospital (0.1 per 10,000 patient days) was half of the state average (0.2), with just 28.6% of complaints being substantiated.
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
Non-cardiac surgery related deaths at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center were 51% higher than the national average and almost 13% higher than the state average.
But the hospital performed better in the number of complications reported, which were 27% lower than the national average.
Jamaica had the third highest patient wait time recorded in the state, with an average wait of 86 minutes before assessment by a healthcare professional.
Patient satisfaction at the facility was slightly higher than Elmhurst at 64.5%, but this still placed the facility in the bottom 5% for patient satisfaction nationally.
And there were 0.3 complaints lodged against Jamaica Hospital for every 10,000 patient days (state average 0.2) with 38.5% of complaints being substantiated (state average 26.8%).
New York Presbyterian, Queens
New York Presbyterian in Queens performed better than Elmhurst and Jamaica in mortality (non-cardiac), complications, wait times, and patient satisfaction.
Non-cardiac surgery related deaths were 29% higher than the national average, but nearly 4% lower than the state average.
The facility was rated highly in the number of complications reported, which were 36% lower than the national average.
With an average patient wait time of 34 minutes New York Presbyterian in Queens scored better than over a third of hospitals in the state (ranked 97 of 154). However, this was still 6 minutes longer than the average waiting time in New York of 28 minutes.
Patient satisfaction at the hospital was 67%, and the facility had a relatively low number of complaints per 10,000 patient days of 0.1, with 41.7% of these substantiated.
Which Areas of Queens Do We Cover?
Our lawyers can accept medical malpractice cases throughout Queens County, including: Astoria, Corona, Elmhurst, Bayside, Forest Hills, Glendale, Rockaway, St. Albans, Sunnyside, Flushing, Jackson Heights, Jamaica,
Kew Gardens, Middle Village, Ozone Park, and Richmond Hill.
Which Queens Hospitals Can We Accept Medical Malpractice Cases Against?
We can accept medical malpractice cases against all Queens hospitals, including:
- Elmhurst Hospital Center, 79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens.
- The Floating Hospital, 41-40 27th Street, Long Island City, Queens.
- Flushing Hospital Medical Center, 4500 Parsons Boulevard, Flushing, Queens.
- Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, 102-01 66th Road, Forest Hills, Queens.
- Jamaica Hospital, Van Wyck Expressway at 89th Avenue, Jamaica, Queens.
- Long Island Jewish Medical Center, 270-05 76th Avenue, New Hyde Park
- Mount Sinai Queens, 25-10 30th Avenue, Astoria Queens.
Your Medical Malpractice Case
Our firm helps individuals who have been injured as a result of negligence from healthcare providers in Queens and throughout New York State.
Our highly trained, experienced, and compassionate lawyers will help you through the process from start to finish.
Please get in touch and allow us to help you get the compensation and justice you deserve for your Queens medical malpractice case.